Classical Greek Architecture

There is no really sharp change in the style of architecture
between the Archaic and the Classical periods.
One blends gradually into the other. For no particular reason, we actually
have more archaic temples that survive than we do classical temples. The
most famous surviving classical temple is the Parthenon
in Athens, which mixes the Doric and the new Ionic
styles.

The Parthenon, a temple to Athena
Parthenos, or Athena the Pure, was built in Athens
in the 440s BC, using money from the Delian
League's treasury. It was meant to be the best temple ever built, and
so it was made entirely out of marble
(even the roof-tiles!), and with eight columns across the front instead
of six, and with carved sculptures
on the metopes. To make the Parthenon look even
more like it was reaching for the sky, the architects curved many of its
lines upwards in the middle.

Also in the Classical period, the Greeks began to build permanent stone
theaters, like the Theater of Dionysos on the side of the Acropolis in
Athens (right near the Parthenon).

To find out more about classical Greek architecture, check out these books
at Amazon or at your library:

Greek
Art and Archaeology (3rd Edition), by John G. Pedley (2002) This is
NOT a children's book, but it has a lot of good information and is pretty
readable. Plus, the author is really an expert in this field.

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